Maria Cooper-Gomes

About me

Hi I'm Maria,

I am an intuitive and skilled Holistic Therapist / Healer with over 15 years experience. I 'm a Reiki Master, I offer Reiki healing treatments as well as training. I also practice Theta Healing, Indian Head Massage, Auricular (ear) acupuncture, and Body Spin Healing. It is my passion and joy to facilitate a process of healing, support you to with self awareness's and empower to find your inner happiness.

I have helped, supported and guided clients with relationship issues, anxiety, depression, confidence / low esteem as well with people undergoing medical treatment.

About me.

My own healing journey began thirty years ago in my twenties. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin and I didn’t see the point of living. I tried to take my own life twice. I had a very traditional Catholic Indian upbringing and although I strived to break away from that I had unwittingly recreated a similar paradigm in my relationship where I felt controlled and suffocated. It wasn’t long before my whole body erupted in eczema, an external representation of the repressed emotions I was holding inside. At the time I was working as a beauty therapist which made having eczema particularly problematic. I kept meeting clients who would recommend reiki. I hadn’t heard of it before and didn’t take much notice, until one day I met a woman who worked on the same street as me in Knightsbridge who was a reiki healer. I agreed to have a treatment.As soon as she put her hands on me I knew that this was what my whole being needed. Not just my physical and emotional self, but my spiritual and energetic being too. During the treatment I had a deep past life experience which shook me to my core. As soon as the session ended I asked the therapist where I could study reiki. I knew instinctively it was my path that I needed to follow. After the session I could feel my energy beginning to open, I knew an inner journey of healing had begun. I was waking up to myself. After I completed my reiki level 1 the 21 day cleansing process connected me to my own intuition in ways I could not have imagined. I fell pregnant and knew almost instantly. My partner at the time asked me to have an abortion, despite the fact we’d been together for 8 years. My parents also disapproved of me having a child out of wedlock. Despite the shame and pressure I was up against I knew I wanted to have my child. This was the first time in my life that I took my power back. I said no, I’m having this baby. The next 5 years were the hardest of my life. I was pulled in and out of an abusive relationship with someone who rejected me over and over again. I later realised this was a repetition of the abandonment I’d felt from my Dad growing up. I was in a seriously bad place, I was on benefits, I had no heating and had water leaking through my roof. My self-esteem was on the floor. Every area of my life was shit. I knew that I needed to do something, I needed to take responsibility for my life. I needed to heal so that I could close this chapter and welcome something new. It was then that I took my power back for the second time by ending my abusive relationship once and for all. Closing that door almost immediately opened another. I got a grant from the council to help with my home repairs, and I began volunteering at a charity that worked with young people and substance abuse, where I met my now husband Frank. Not long after I got my first job as a workshop coordinator, a role that would push me to find skills I never knew I had, public speaking and space holding amongst others. One Christmas I volunteered at a lunch for the homeless and realized I wanted to work with homeless adults. I set the intention and manifested a role for myself, managing a brand-new day center for the homeless. I was shocked I got the role as I didn’t really have the experience required, but my passion shone through.After running the center for 2 years I moved on to work in a rehab center for men with alcohol dependency. When I was eventually made redundant from this role I used the money I received to do my theta healing qualification. Still not quite ready to go for it with my healing business I took a job at Lewisham hospital.

During this time my husbands mum died of cancer. Then in 2014 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. What followed was a gruesome 9 months of hard work, 2 surgeries, chemo and radiotherapy. I was in total shock. But I knew that cancer didn’t mean death for me. It was going to be a doorway to transformation. I was determined to survive and I would do everything in my power to heal myself. Months before I’d been diagnosed with cancer people had been telling me about a guy named John who did acupuncture and was amazing treating cancer patients. So here I was now battling cancer, and I decided to go and see him. I didn’t know it then, but John would open me up so much more than just acupuncture. It was through meeting John that I began my shamanic journey and took my first vision quest, living alone on a mountain for four days without food or water. Stripped of all comforts (bar a sleeping bag), completely alone with the elements and fasting, I connected to myself and spirit on a deeper level than ever before. It was the scariest thing I have ever done, but I had to do it. I had received a calling, this was my quest for the meaning of my life. It’s so easy to ignore our calling when it comes, but that was not an option for me – I had been through too much already. A year later after finishing my cancer treatment I did my second quest, this time seven days. On the mountain I received a vision of my logo, the hummingbird. Small, but with a powerful, uplifting energy. Seeking out the sweet nectar of life. After my cancer treatment I felt absolutely done in. I’d been through so much in my life already. There had been a momentary sweet relief of meeting my husband, having my two boys, getting married and beginning to build the life I’d always wanted, and then the cancer came and it felt to me as though it took that all goodness away. When I saw the hummingbird, it inspired me to find the joy in my life again. I realised that I had two choices – I could either be bitter, or I could accept my past as all the different parts of me that had led me to this point, my chance to start a new chapter. My life has taught me that if we don’t heal ourselves, our unhealed anger, resentment and trauma can manifest into something greater – for me that was cancer. But if we take responsibility by stepping out of a place of victimhood and resistance, our pain and suffering can be healed and can be transformed into Freedom, Empowerment and Joy.

I am a member of Federation of Holistic Therapist (FHT) and Complimentary Health Council (CHNC) and Acupuncture Society.

Published articles

Further information

What next?

Contact me via email or phone to arrange a FREE 30 minute consultation. This initial chat is really about me finding out a bit more about you and what you hope to achieve, and for you to ask me any questions about the healing modalities I offer. It’s also a way to see if I’m the right person for you, should you decide to come for a treatment.

What can you expect from a Healing / Self care session with me .

All my treatments last 1 hour, this includes feedback at the end of the session.

Treatment.

With the information you have shared with me and paying close attention to emotions that are attached to the issue at hand, I always let my intuition guide me to decide which combination of therapies would suit you the best. I encourage you to also listen to your intuition so this way we work together to support you!

I will by begin my treatment by using sound (Tibetan singing bowl) to shift any energetic stagnation and centre you. Sage to cleanse your auric field of negative energy that you are holding onto, crystals to ground you and also to assist me with specific issues that need to heal.

I will then usually combine two of the healing modalities I practice for example I will combine Ear acupuncture and Reiki together, or Reiki and Theta Healing. I have found that by combining treatments can take the healing to much deeper place. I treat the front and the back of the body.

I will end by treatment with sound to gently awaken you. I will then give you feedback on any insights I received during your healing as well as additional things you can do to support yourself.

If you are happy and comfortable with how I work, I then encourage you come and have 2 other treatments closely together. The reason for this is when a healing process starts it like peeling the layers of a onion. Having treatments closely together enables to get deeper and to the root cause of the issue. I offer discounted packages of 3 Reiki and Theta healing, or if you wish you can pay individually for sessions.

Important information

If you have been diagnosed with or suspect you may have a pre-existing medical condition you should consult your GP for advice, diagnosis and treatment and always inform your health professional before starting any alternative or additional therapies, treatments or making any major changes in your diet or exercise programme.